Why Am I The One?
by kaerose13
Summary: My shipping of Lauren and Joe from Starkid cause they're just bloody AMAZAYN : soon to be Mature, not yet though.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 - "Lauren?"

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"Lauuuureeennnn!" screamed Stacy, opening the front door to Lauren's house, causing her to jump.

"Yes, Stacy?" said Lauren calmly. Her friend was known for her random outbursts.

"Did you see? You have new neighbors across from you!" Stacy lived in the house behind Lauren and loved to find out who was moving in.

"Nope, haven't seen anyone." She said, flipping the pages of the magazine she was reading.

"Well you _have_ to!" exclaimed Stacy, shocked at her best friend's lack of enthusiasm. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'll just tell you about them!"

Lauren inwardly groaned, not in the mood for her incessant babbling.

"So from what I've seen there are at least seven of them and I've heard they're from Illinois. Anyways, the hottest one there is a 6 foot sex god! He has muscles made of bronze and his eyes! Oh! His blue eyes!"

Lauren soon zoned out after this and found herself gazing out into her backyard. After a minute or two, Lauren turned back to her friend, half expecting her to be still describing their features.

"And they are just so supermegafoxyawesomehot!" shouted Stacy, running around Laurens house.

Lauren froze. She hadn't heard anyone say that word in over a year when she had moved to California, away from Chicago and far away from Starkid.

"Hellooooooo? Anyone home? LAUREN!" yelled Stacy, waving her hand like a madwoman in front of Laurens face.

"Huh? Uhh, yeah. Hey, Stace? I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'll see you tomorrow yeah?" asked Lauren, not really waiting for a response, and kicking her rambunctious friend out of her house, shutting the door in her face.

Come to think of it, that guy Stacy had described was strangely familiar, but she shrugged it off, heading upstairs for a nap even though it was eleven in the morning. She plonked herself on her inviting bed, welcoming sleep as an old friend. It was all too soon when her phone began blaring an annoying ringtone, signaling it was her friend April.

"Hello?" She asked hesitantly.

"LAUREN? DID YOU FORGET ABOUT LUNCH?" screamed the angry girl. _Shit,_ thought Lauren. "You know what? Forget it. I'm outside your door, open up." She muttered, hanging up.

Lauren heaved herself off her warm bed reluctantly and descended the stairs to open the door.

"I'm gonna go get changed quickly, but make yourself at home." Lauren said, heading back upstairs once again. Once in her unicorn filled room, Lauren grabbed the first thing in her drawer, going to the bathroom to finish up.

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Once she was done, Lauren walked back downstairs only to find not just April, but seven guys, one being blond and built.

_New neighbors, crap._ She thought, trying to sneak back upstairs unnoticed.

"Oh there she is!" April called. _Fuck._ "Hey Lauren, come meet your new neighbors."

Lauren turned around slowly, meeting seven eager stares. She nearly died of shock right there and then. She knew them.

"Lauren?" asked a tall, long black haired boy. _Joey._ She'd know that crooked jaw from anywhere. Lauren yelped and ran back upstairs, hearing footsteps, thundering behind her.

"LAUREN?" shouted April after the freaked out girl. Lauren ignored her and locked her bedroom door, but not before slamming it.

She didn't know what to do. They were the reason she ran away. Well not exactly _all_ their faults; just one's in particular. The same one her friend Stacy had described to her earlier; Joe Walker. She left all her memories, her whole life behind because of him and the way he made her stomach turn in the most pleasant ways with every smile.

"Lauren, open this door dead-goddammit." Joe's voice and pounding fist startled her, causing her to burst into tears.

"Get out of my house, Joseph. All of you just go!" Her voice breaking at the end. She couldn't bear to face them, knowing she left them without as much as a goodbye.

On the other side of the door, was deafening silence. Lauren was obviously not thinking straight because next thing she knew, she was opening the door, only to be grabbed into a tight hug by none other than Joe.

She screamed profanities at her 'attacker', hitting him as hard as she could, crying her eyes out.

"I HATE YOU! GO AWAY!" She screamed repeatedly, not caring how much it hurt him to hear this from her. The boys listened and filed out of her room leaving Joe to deal with the tiny ball of fury. He flung her on to her bed and locked the door behind Brian Rosenthal, a squirrely looking boy.

"Lauren, look at me." When she refused, Joe got on her bed and engulfed her in his arms once again, letting her cry herself to sleep.

"Dammit, Lo! Why do you make everything so difficult?" asked Joe to no one in particular as she was already asleep.

He thanked wizard god that him and the guys decided to move here and find her accidentally. Joe kissed her forehead, and wrapped his arms more tightly around her, suddenly feeling tired himself.

"OMG! What the fuck was all that about?" Asked April, huffily.

"Amy, I think you should leave." Said Darren, a semi-afroed boy, looking at the irritated bleached blond girl.

"It's April. And no. She's _my _friend. You don't even know her, you weirdoes." She said coldly.

Joey snorted, "I think you'll find that we know her _very_ well, thank you very much, _April_. Better than you ever will."

"As if."

"Oh my bad, I forgot. _You_ were the one who went and graduated at the University of Michigan with her. Go on vacation with her, sleep over at her dorm, act in plays with her, _and_ go on tour with her. _Lived _with her. Silly me." Said a brown haired boy who went by the nickname Brolden, sarcastically.

"Thanks, Brolden." Said Darren.

"No problem, man."

"Hey guys? What are we going to do about Lauren?" asked Rosenthal, tentatively.

"Nothing, Ros. This _is _her house." Explained Joey.

"No duh." Said Dylan Saunders. He and their other friend Nick Lang were only in California to help the guys move.

"Haha. What I meant was that we live right across from a girl we've known for years who ditched us for no apparent reason and _just _openly freaked on us. I meant as in the fact that she lives right across from us." Finished Rosenthal.

"Well, maybe she had a reason?" Asked Darren uncertainly, looking at Joey who just shrugged. Everyone had been affected by Lauren's absence, especially Joe, who was unconditionally in love with her. She was the one who brought the life to a party and a smile on everyone's face. When she left, Team Starkid fell apart much to their dismay. They just couldn't bring themselves to hat this small girl who brought down a business twice her size, unintentionally.

"How about we ask her for ourselves." Said Joe, appearing at the top of the stairs.

"How is she?" asked Dylan.

"Out cold."

"Oh, well we can wait right?" Asked Brolden to the group.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 – "I don't hate you."

Lauren opened her eyes to a sparkly ceiling.

"Oh, no!" she cried out, the events from the day, rushing back to her. She check her watch; 5:30 PM.

She got off her bed and headed for the door but she caught sight of her mascara stained shirt and tear streaked face in her mirror. She decided to take a quick shower and chose something comfy to wear.

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She opened her door slowly and used her ballet skills to tip toe to the landing, seating herself on the top stair, as she listened to the curious boys below.

"What should we say?" asked Joey.

"What if she really hates us?" asked Rosenthal, ignoring him.

"Guys, shut up" said Nick.

"She shouldn't have left. She could have talk to us." Said Dylan.

"I hope she doesn't hate us."

"I don't." Lauren's 'whisper' louder than she intended, silencing the boys below.

"Lau –" started Joe.

"Shut up. I wanna talk."

"Why _did_ you leave?" demanded Brolden, ignoring her glare.

"It doesn't matter now. All I wanna say is I'm sorry. Sorry for leaving without reason, without a goodbye." She said quickly, getting it off her chest.

"Well I don't know if I can forgive you."

"Shut up B-Hol."

"I think this calls for a GROUP HUG!" Darren yelled, jumping at Lauren. She soon found herself captured in a swarm of bear hugs, fighting her way out but not succeeding.

Once she extracted herself from the sea of arms she suggested they go out for dinner since it was nearing seven.

"Ooh, where?" asked Joey, eyes lighting up at the thought of food.

"I was thinking of Bubba Gump's, it's down town." She giggled, at Joey's grumbling stomach.

"SHRIMP!" yelled the guys' high fiving each other.

Lauren laughed again, "OK give me just a sec guys. I have to get dressed."

"Jesus, Lauren! How many times do you have to change?" asked Nick incredulously.

"Not enough." Was her reply.

She ran back upstairs which seemed like the hundredth time and searched her closet for an outfit. All the guys were dressed in jeans and T-shirts so she decided on a dress; it wasn't too cold outside.

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Once they had cleared out of her house, she led them to her massive garage that held her baby; a bright yellow hummer.

"Uh Lauren? Where's your car?" asked Brolden, not quite believing that this monster car could belong to such a tiny person.

"Right in front of you Brian." _Duh_

"You are kidding right? These thing are gas guzzlers and huge and bad and –" Darren started.

"I know, I know but she was so sad, all alone by herself at the dealership. I just _had _to get her."

"It's not a puppy, Lolo." Joe said, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Whatever, Walker." She said, fixing her messed up hair.

Lauren unlocked the doors and jumped into the driver's seat, Joe in the passenger's. The rest of the gang filed into the two back seats.

"When we gonna get there?" Joey asked impatiently. Hunger wasn't a stranger to him but it stilled annoyed him.

"Just wait, Joey. Please?" asked Lauren.

"Fine. But when I eat you, don't complain."

Joe took this time in the car, where his friends were goofing off, to really look at Lauren. She had changed quite a bit since he last saw her, but her height was always the same 5 feet it was in University. She still didn't wear a lot of makeup but it didn't matter, her face was stilly beautiful. Her cheekbones were more defined and she wasn't _as _skinny as before. She looked healthy. Her style had changed quite a bit. She wore heels now, he noticed. _Must be a small person complex, _he thought.

"Joe? We're here." Joe was pulled out his reverie by a blushing Lauren. _Dammit, she caught me._ He noticed, as he got out of the car, they had indeed arrived at Bubba Gump's.

"YES! Finally!" yelled Joey, beating his chest.

They all laughed and walked into the restaurant. They were waiting for a table, when none other than April, came up to them.

"Welcome to Bubba's. My name is April and I'll be your waitress tonight. A table for how many?" April finally looked up from her apron and recognized them immediately.

"Oh God."

"Uhh, eight people for one table, please April." Lauren smiled, pretending not to have heard that comment. She didn't know the reason behind April's hostility but she didn't care. She wasn't worth the drama.

"Right this way." April glared at them.

She led them to a large table in the corner, with perfect lighting and direct access to the door and bathroom.

"Perfect, thanks Ape." Lauren plastered on a fake smile, knowing how much her 'friend' hated that nickname. Brolden and Rosenthal snickered, earning them glares from not only April but Dylan and Nick too.

Everyone got situated; Joe across from Lauren, who was next to Joey who was across from Darren. The two Brian's sat next to each other on Joey's side and Dylan and Nick were opposite them. While the rest were searching for something not too expensive but yummy, Joe struck a conversation with Lauren.

"How have you been, Lolo?" Joe asked quietly, gazing at his menu.

"Hmm? Oh, umm, ok I guess? I got a job as a dance teacher at the local gym and I get paid A LOT." She laughed softly. Joe looked up from his menu to see her staring at him, searching his face, for something; anything.

"And you, Joseph?"

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" He asked, irritated at the use of his full name.

"Fine how are you, _Joe_?" she amended.

"Good but not the same since you left."

Joey, who'd been silently listening, seized this moment as an entrance, "Yeah, thing haven't been the same. I don't remember the last time we actually _all _hung out. Parties have stopped and slumber parties just consist of us guys."

Lauren looked down at her menu, suddenly finding the appetizers to be interesting.

"I think I'll get four different appetizers. How does that sound?" she said, changing the subject.

"All for _you_?" Rosenthal asked incredulously.

"Of course not, Squirrel Boy. For us." _Duh._

"Duh, Rosie!" exclaimed Joe. Brian blushed furiously and looked back at his menu.

"Where is the waitress?" asked Darren, looking around for someone to come take our drink orders.

"Right here." Said a sickly sweet voice. "So what can I get ya?" asked April.

"I'll have some apple juice." Said Darren. April scoffed.

"Three cokes." Said Dylan, motioning to himself and the two Brian's.

"I'll have a Doctor Pepper." Said Joey.

"Me too." Nick piped in.

"And two sprites." Said Joe, ordering for the both of us. _He remembered,_ Lauren smiled.

"Okey doke." April said, batting her eyelashes at Joe.

"You can go April." Lauren said impatiently. April stared at her, but walked away all the same.

"Wow Lopez, Draco much?" Brolden laughed.

"Shut it B-Hol."

"Okay you lil' poofa!" the whole table busted up, including Lauren. Two minutes later, their drinks arrived this time with another waiter.

"So are y'all ready to order?" She asked pleasantly. "By the way, my name is Gloria, and I'll be your waitress for the rest of the evening. April wasn't feeling so good."

"No problem, Gloria." Lauren looked up at her. "We'll start with appetizers first."

"Alrighty then." _I like this girl_, Lauren thought to herself.

"We'll have 'Mama Gump's Garlic Bread Basket', 'Calamari', a bowl of 'Clam Chowder' and the 'Onion Rings'" She ordered.

As the night progressed, the group moved from sodas to alcohol, exchanging stories of their lives for the past year. Joey was in the middle of reenacting his and Darren's late night rat visit, when their bill came. Lauren insisted she pay for it all, but the guys distracted her with a shot while Joe paid.

"And so here we were, I'm up on the table screaming like a little girl and Darren was running round the kitchen like a headless chicken –" Lauren lets out a huge laugh which makes everyone laugh even more. _Man, I've missed these guys!_ "- Hold on wait! And s – and so –so I finally jump down and the rat is nowhere to be seen! So I quickly go out and grab the vacuum. And this vacuum is a beast! It could like suck a small dog up! So – so – Stop laughing!" Everyone was looking at their table now as Joey was talking and they were screaming. "And so I turn it on, and it doesn't make a loud noise. Darren is still screaming and now this rat comes back out from wherever it was hiding and comes up right underneath me. And what do I do? I vacuum the rat up." He says proudly.

By this time Lauren was on the floor, screaming that she was going to pee her pants and from the corner of his eye Joe noticed April was back, talking to what looked like the manager. He got up, downed his sprite since he was designated driver, and ushered the still hysterical bunch out the restaurant, not wanting to be banned from it so soon.

Lauren was wasted after three drinks and two shot games with the Brian's but the rest were just mildly tipsy. He made sure everyone got in the car before lifting the hyper Lauren into the passenger seat. After buckling her in, he jumped in behind the wheel, started the car and pulled out of the restaurant car park.

The rest of the ride home was insane; Joe thought his head was going to explode.

"Joe, Joe, JOEEEEEE!" screamed Lauren. "Sto – stop at Walmart. Joe please? We – we can get Red Vines and Squirt right guys?"

"RED VINES!" Joey and Darren yelled, while Nick, who was singing My Little Pony, started fist pumping.

"Ew, only Harry Potter likes Squirt." Dylan made a face.

"WHEN I RULE THE WORLD, I'LL PLANT FLOWERS!" shouted the two Brian's, holding onto each other as if they were at a karaoke bar.

"Okay but you guys have to shut the hell up." Said Joe, calmly. By this time Lauren had slipped out of her seatbelt and curled up against Joe like a cat. He couldn't help but feel a rush of warmth pass through his body as he looked at the tired but still loud little 'girl'.

Joe soon found a Walmart and pulled into the parking lot, switching off the car and jumping out, locking it immediately so no one could get out. Lauren banged on the windows like a caged animal, but soon gave up and continued to sing "Back to Hogwarts" with the guys.

Joe grabbed a cart and went looking around for stuff for their sleepover. His cart was a quarter full with various drinks and candy. He was going to go pay for the stuff when he passed the little kids section. He couldn't help himself when he saw a bunch of Pillow Pets, one catching his eye; a unicorn. He grabbed it and threw it in the cart, along with Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Ponies for Nick and Brolden. He went and paid for all the stuff, earning him awkward looks from the cashier.

"Your total comes to $49.78. Cash or card?" she asked.

"Oh cash. Here," He said, whipping out his wallet. "That should do it. Keep the change." He said handing her fifty dollars.

"Thanks."

Joe exited the store and went to the car where he saw a Lauren asleep, the guys just talking in the locked car. He unlocked it and got in after throwing the stuff in the trunk. He started the car again and headed to Lauren's house. He was at a stoplight when she woke up.

"Hey Joe." She smiled up at him.

"Hey Lolo, how are you feeling." He asked the now stretching girl. The light turned green and he kept driving.

"Ugh, like I've been hit by a tru –" She was cut off by the sound of a screeching truck headed straight for Lauren's side.

_How ironic, _were Lauren's last thoughts before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - So sorry I took longer than expected but here ya go**

**Starkid is not mine.. unfortunately**

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CHAPTER 3 – "Pain is my friend."

JPOV

The force of the truck caused us to be slammed into a wall, a few feet from the initial hit. I knew I hadn't suffered any major injuries; the car was only damaged on the hood and Lauren's side. I was more worried about everyone else. I unbuckled myself and pushed the airbag away, turning in my seat to see the back. Thank dead god it hadn't been hit too bad. The guys must have been unconscious because slowly one by one they were waking up.

"What the?" asked Nick who was looking at his bleeding arm. A piece of glass from the window had scratched him.

"OHMYWIZARDGOD! What the heck just happened?" Half screamed Joey who was looking at Nicks arm and the shattered windows around him.

"Aw shit." Brolden said looking at blood from his hand when he touched his head. It seemed his head hit the window.

"Rosenthal wake up." Dylan shoved at Brian whose eyes were still closed.

"Wha – what?" everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone one was fine; Darren was just happy to be alive.

"Is Lauren OK?" He asked. _Shit_.

I looked away from him and at Lauren, her head lolled to the left side. She hadn't moved at all but I could tell she was breathing. I looked at her closely trying to analyze the damage without touching her. Her legs were trapped under the dashboard but they didn't look crushed. However the rest of her body didn't look so unscathed. Her right side took most of the injuries. She had a gash from her hairline to her ear and a split lip. Her arm looked painful at the odd angle she was at and when I looked down I could faintly see a dark liquid dripping on her dress. Blood. I hissed as I found its source. A small but thick piece of shrapnel was pinning her to her seat and I could tell it was keeping her from slumping down.

I looked back at her face and saw her that she was awake. Thank dead God.

"Lauren, don't move." I ordered.

She tried to say something but I couldn't understand her, that's when I saw her jaw move in an odd way. It was out of place. She let out a painful scream that tore through my body in an agonizing way. Tears started to escape her eyes and the guys started calling for help. The sirens were too loud, drowning us out, _so how do we get out?_

LPOV

I cracked my eyes open and winced.

All I could see was darkness; I could only hear the sounds of sirens. But that's not what woke me up. The pain was immense, shooting through me like a bow and arrow.

_What's happened?_ I thought to myself. That's when I remembered. I was talking to Joe when a truck spun out of control and hit us.

I was pulled out of my painful thoughts when I heard a hiss. I slowly looked over to the driver's side and saw Joe looking at me with a hard expression on his face.

"Lauren, don't move." He ordered.

"I'm OK Joe." Was what I tried to say but it came out garbled and I screamed in pain as my jaw felt like it was burning. It must be broken. Joe blinked a few times, before shouting for help. _I feel like shit_.

JPOV

"Somebody help!"

"We need help in here!"

"We have a casualty!"

"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?" We all yelled.

"Hold on, sir." Said a calm voice. "We just need to get the other car out of the way so they can get to you."

I relaxed slightly and grabbed Lauren's good hand. She whimpered and a few more tears leaked out.

"It's going to be OK Lo, we're gonna get out. Just stay with us. Stay with me. Don't close your eyes. Stay awake." I whispered to her, rubbing circles on her hand.

We could hear the sound of metal being ripped and assumed they were getting rid of the truck. Once the had towed it away, lights flooded in, blinding us for a short while. Lauren's body was thrown into high definition under the glare of the outside car lights, she looked scarily pale. _Please hurry_, I silently begged.

"Okay, sir. We're going to get you out now." Said an officer. " Is there anyone who needs immediate attention?" He asked.

"Y – Yes." I said louder. "Our friend Lauren. She's suffered the most injuries and she's pinned to the chair by a piece of shrapnel." I told him.

I saw him talk to some guys and the next thing I knew, Lauren's door was ripped away and the medics were cutting away the part of the seat she was pinned to, keeping pressure on the wound.

They got the rest of us out after she was secured into a gurney and carted off into an ambulance. I was looked over and was deemed fine, but the Brian's had needed to go to the hospital; Brolden for stitches and Rosenthal for a broken arm. Dylan, Joey, Nick, Darren and I got a ride to the hospital from a police officer who wanted all the details on the accident, but not before I rescued the Pillow Pet from the undamaged trunk.

Once we arrived we ran straight to the front desk in search of Lauren.

"She's in surgery now, sir. You're welcome to wait." She said in an annoyingly calm voice.

We all went to the waiting area and the guys asked me what had happened, seeing as they were drifting to sleep at the time.

"Well we were on our way home and Lauren woke up. We were at a stop light and it turned green so we went and some asshole ran a red light and crashed into us. The ironic thing was I asked her how she was feeling and she was about to say she felt like she'd been hit by a truck." I laughed humorlessly.

"Let's go check on the Brian's, shall we?" Asked Nick, trying to change the subject. Joey was still shaken up but nodded his head.

"Not even been a day in California and already something bad has happened." He commented sullenly.

We walked to where Rosenthal and Brolden were being held, and knocked on the door.

"How's Lauren?" They asked simultaneously.

"In surgery as we speak." Said Darren. I sat down by the window and closed my eyes, praying to wizard God that Lauren was going to be ok.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 – "Morphine please."

LPOV

I woke up with a start and inhaled sharply, as I felt my ribs protest at the movement. I looked around the room and noticed a doctor looking at a clipboard at the foot of my bed.

"Ah, Miss Lopez, you're awake." _Duh_. "Your friends were very worried about you, you know." He said looking at me. I started to talk once I found my mouth didn't hurt as much as before.

"Am I okay, Doctor –?" I asked, hoarsely.

"Martin. Well, you can walk and talk, and you'll definitely live, so yeah you're OK." He smiled. "But you upper right body seemed to suffer the most. Your jaw was unhinged and your arm is broken –" _No wonder it felt heavy._ " – You've had several fractured ribs. You've had to have stitches on the side of you face but the worst has to be your shoulder, so try not to move so much. And you've had to have several blood transfusions due to blood loss from your wound." He finished.

"Oh."

"I'm going to go let your friends know they can come in, you gave them quite a scare. Glad you're okay Miss Lopez." Said Doctor Martin.

"So am I." I smiled weakly.

I closed my eyes again, listening to him exit the room. I could hear several muffled voices and then the door bang open. I was met with a collective gasp and opened my eyes. _Did I really look that bad?_

"You look like shit." Deadpanned Brolden.

"Not so good looking yourself, B-Hol." Referring to his bandaged head. The guys laughed and came over to the bed, Joe sitting right on my left in the empty chair.

"So what's the damage?" Asked Darren sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Well, I can still walk so that's ok. But my jaw was unhinged, my arm's broken," I said lifting my arm.

"So is mine!" said Rosenthal, raising his too.

I smiled at his cheerfulness and continued, "Some of my ribs are fractured and my face had to be stitched up. Oh and I have 31 stitches in my shoulder so I can't move it." The guys winced. "Wanna know something cool?" I asked them, grinning.

"Sure, Lo, why not?" said Joe flashing me a dazzling smile.

"I have other people's blood sloshing around in me." I giggled.

"Only you would find that funny." Laughed Dylan. At that moment a plump nurse came waltzing in claiming visiting hours were long over but I could have one person stay the night. I looked at Joe hopefully and he nodded. The others caught this and after several "We'll see you tomorrow" 's and "Don't overdose on morphine" 's, the boys left, leaving Joe and I alone.

"I'm glad you're OK, Lolo. You had me worried there for a minute." He looked at me with a look in his eyes. I blushed under his gaze and felt my tummy turn in a pleasant way. _Stop it Lauren, he would never like you_, I chastised myself.

"Well, jou taught me something once. That no matter how hard jou get knocked down, jou always got to get back up." I said in my Taz voice.

Joe laughed and got into a more comfortable position on his chair. I looked at the clock on the table beside me and noticed it was four in the morning.

"You must be tired." I commented slowly moving to the right side of my bed.

"Naw, I'll stay up with you." He yawned.

"Sure, but you can't sleep on that chair, so jump in." I motioned to the spot next to me.

"No, no it's ok Lo, I'll be fin –"

"I won't take no for an answer, Joe. So get in the dead goddamn bed."

He relented and got in next to me, minding my hair and leaning back, closing his eyes at once. I curled into his side and relaxed immediately, but my stomach and shoulder were starting to hurt.

"Hey, Joe?" I whispered, hoping he wasn't asleep yet.

"Mhmm?" He hummed.

"Can you push that button above the bed? I can't reach and I need meds." His eyes shot open and he looked down at me.

"I'm so sorry, Lo. I forgot to ask how you were." He gushed.

"It's OK, all you have to do is push the button." I winced. He nodded and reached up, pushing it without hesitation. The relief was instantaneous.

"Thanks." I mumbled, the liquid sleep kicking in.

"No problem, Lo." He kissed my forehead and started stroking my hair. I smiled, slowly drifting to sleep.

"Oh, I forgot." He exclaimed suddenly. I cracked my eyes open and saw he had something in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked, curious.

"A unicorn Pillow Pet." He said, smiling and handing it to me. I squealed and grabbed it, cuddling it close to me.

"Thank you, Joseph." I stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. I could see a faint blush on his cheeks and giggled.

"OK, time for bed now." He said, pulling the covers over us and pulling me against him. I couldn't help but smile.

Before I fell asleep I was sure he said, "I love you." _Maybe that's just the meds talking?_

LPOV

"Lolo, Lauren?" A voice sing-songed above me.

"Go away." I mumbled, turning over in, not wanting to wake up so soon. I soon found that impossible due to my bulky cast and swore. I heard laughter and opened my eyes slowly, I am definitely not a morning person.

"Morning Sunshine." Waved Joe, from his card game with Darren, Nick and Dylan.

"She's awake!" smiled Rosenthal.

"Finally, I'm starving." Said Joey.

"When are you not?" I teased. "So what's for breakfast?"

"It's lunch time Lauren." He motioned to the clock; 12:30.

"What? Why didn't you wake me up?" I turned to Joe accusingly.

"I tried, but those meds knock you OUT!" he laughed.

"Whatever, give me food. I'm so hungry I could eat Bambi's mom." I joked. The guys had brought McDonalds back and spread out everything on my bed table. After I was done I watched T.V while everyone was doing their own thing. Joe soon lost his card game and came to sit next to me.

"How you feeling?" He asked motioning to my head and shoulder.

"Like crap, but I just wanna go home."

"You haven't even been here a day?" he exclaimed.

"So? Neither were the Brian's but they got out." I reasoned.

"Fine, I'll go find your Doctor and talk him into letting you out early." He smiled down at me and left.

I smiled too, despite myself. You would think after all this time I'd been over him, but I'm not. I feel the same way I did one year ago.

"Well, Miss Lopez. After checking your charts, you seem to be alright to go home." Doctor Martin told me, pulling me out of my thoughts. _Thank dead god for Joe_. After a few minutes I was on my way home with a big smile and bag full of medication.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - thanks Marisa for reviewing :) love your constant encouragement.**

**This chapter is a little bit after the accident so enjoy, REDVINES on me :))**

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CHAPTER 5 – "Road trip"

Road Trip - .com/cgi/set?id=46753743

_Ding dong._

_Finally_, thought Lauren. She'd been waiting for this day since last Tuesday.

Lauren got off the couch, grabbed her bag and opened her front door, revealing her five favorite neighbors. Nick and Dylan had to go back to Chicago a few weeks ago but it was understandable.

"Hey Lo." Joe whispered in her ear as he swooped her up in a hug. "How's the shoulder?" It had been almost a month since the accident but her shoulder still bothered her sometimes.

"It's doing fine," She whispered back. Once he let her go, she turned to the other four boys still on her front step. "Well are we going or not?" She asked them.

They all nodded and walked out to the RV parked in front of her house. They had all planned a trip three days ago to Los Angeles where they'd be dropping Darren off for Glee again. After that they were going to keep driving until they found something interesting to do. Lauren closed the door behind her, locking it; all her luggage was outside.

RV- /fleetwood-revolution

Lauren flung open the bus door and found the biggest bed, throwing her satchel on it, claiming territory.

"Uhh Lo? Don't you have suitcases to bring?" asked Joey, peeking his head through the open door.

"Duh, Joey."

"Well why are you still sitting there?" He asked.

"Aww, Jojo," She pouted. "Can't you big buff guys bring them in for me, pwease?" She smiled up at him.

"Whatever."

After nearly an hour of bumping, slamming and swearing, the boys filed on to the bus and chose their beds, still shocked at the amount of suitcases Lauren had. Thank wizard god the bus had a whole 'basement' thingy to fit all seven of her suitcases. The bus had an extra bed so the boys dumped all their games on it.

Joe and Lauren had the two beds next to each other, which were near the front of the bus. In the back were Darren and Joey and in between were the Brian's. Once everyone finished unpacking, they worked out driving shifts. Everyone but Brolden, had agreed that Lauren couldn't drive due to the fact that she was too short to reach the pedals, but she had to be co-driver for at least three people. She chose Joe, Darren and Joey.

First shift was Joe so he and Lauren got in their seats as Darren and Joey had an intense game of tennis on the Wii that was installed on the bus, the Brian's cheering on.

"Hey why don't we play some music?" Joe asked her, as they got on highway 101.

"Uhh, sure. Lemme get my iPod." She agreed, getting up to grab her bag.

When she came back all she had to do was pick a song and plug it in to the stereo. She hit shuffle and laughed out loud as the first song that came up was 'Boy Toy'.

"I can't believe you still have that!" Joe smirked.

"Well I can't let go of everything." She reasoned. Lauren soon found herself getting up and singing into an invisible microphone, dancing around with Darren, while Rosenthal filmed.

"HIT IT!"

Darren played their friend Meredith Stepien while he and Lauren performed the silly dance that came along with it. They were still shocked she remembered it.

"You know you are my favorite boy toyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy." She finished with a laugh.

"WOO! WOO! WOOOOO!" screamed Joey like a crazed fan girl. Lauren just smiled and waved her hand like the Queen of England, sitting back down next to Joe. _Man, I'm glad they're back,_ she thought.

"I'm hungry." Claimed Lauren randomly. They hadn't even been driving for ten minutes from when she said that.

"We have food in the fridge." Joe told her.

"But I want to go out." _Duh._

"Well we're not stopping so have some RedVines." Said Joey, trying to make peace.

"NO! I want to stop somewhere!" She pouted.

"And I said we're not." Joe said, with a tone of finality.

Lauren screamed and shouted, kicking the dashboard like a little kid. To stop her endless tantrums Joe struck a deal with her.

"Fine, but we'll stop at Monterey, that way we can go to the Aquarium, OK?" He asked Lauren. Everyone agreed and soon everyone was back to normal.

"Thank you, Joe."

"Whatever, brat." He teased. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to her iPod, looking for a good song to play.

"Ooh are you going to play music again?" Joey asked, popping out of nowhere, scaring Joe.

"Jesus, Joey! I could've crashed!"

"Anyway," Joey ignored him, "Play Granger Danger, then we can have a duet."

"OK."

Lauren and Joey went in to the living room of the RV and grabbed random objects for microphones. Joe watched them through the review mirror.

"Here I am, face to face  
with a situation  
I never thought I'd ever see

Strange, how a dress  
can take a mess  
and make her nothing less than  
beautiful to me

It seems like my eyes have been transfigured  
something deep inside has changed  
they've been opened wide, but hold that trigger  
this could mean, dangeeeeerrrr

I'm falling in love, falling in love, falling in love.  
I could be falling in love, falling in love, falling in loooooove  
with Hermione Granger." Started Joey.

Lauren sang her part perfectly; she'd never forget these lyrics.

"What? What the hell is this?  
You expect me to sing about her  
don't care about her.

It's just a little makeup  
Draco wake up  
I'm mistaken

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeee is the HOTTEST girl I've ever seen  
now, becaaaauuuuse she's like a girl I've never seen  
don't know why I'd ever be so meeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaan  
this could mean, dangeeeeerrrr

I'm falling in love, falling in love, falling in love.  
I could be falling in love, falling in love, falling in loooooove  
with Hermione Granger."

They turned to each other and began singing together.

"I wanna let her "

"I feel so queasy." Sang Lauren.

"But I can't let it "

"She'd laugh at poor Weasley." Piped in Joey. "C'mon Ron."

"Draco." Chimed in Lauren.

"You gotta let it goooooooooooooooo, you gotta let it gooooooooooooooooooooooooo."

"What? What the hell is this?" Shouted Lauren. She and Joey continued on like this, singing over each other till the end of the song.

After many Starkid songs, the team had arrived in Monterey.

"YES! Foooooooood!" Yelled Joey.

They found a suitable parking spot along the road and walked towards the collection of stores.

"Ooh, Godiva chocolate shop! Can we go in, please Joe?" asked Rosenthal, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"No, let's go to Dippin' Dots! It's over there!" Pointed Darren.

"How about we split up?" reasoned Lauren. "Joe and I will head to Starbucks and what not, Joey and Darren can do whatever and you and B-Hol can go get chocolate." She told Rosenthal. "Then we'll meet up at the aquarium, okay?"

Everyone agreed and went their separate ways, Lauren dragging Joe behind her.

"So where are we gonna go?" he asked.

"Starbucks first then we can go check out the little shops. Does that sound good?" He nodded happy to go anywhere as long as it was with her.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 – "Look at the all the fishies!"

LPOV

"Ooh Joe can we go in there?" I pleaded, pointing at the shop that sold Otter merchandise.

"Really Lolo?" he asked, tiredly. He was holding several bags of stuff I bought already, I almost felt sorry for him.

"YES!" I grabbed him by the hand, ignoring the electricity passing through, and pulled him down the crowded sidewalk, towards the Otter shop. Once inside I knew I had to get it. It was a Harry Potter sweatshirt with an otter on the front called Hairy Otter. It was right up my alley. I got a large so it would be warm and big enough to wear with leggings. I took it over to the checkout and looked through my bag for my wallet.

"Are you kidding me?" I looked up, thinking it was Joe, but instead found it was the cashier.

"Yeah, I love Harry Potter." I snapped. He had green eyes and dark curly hair; I could stare at him for days. _Wait, you love Joe! No I don't he doesn't like me remember? _I shut my thoughts off and took my shirt from him.

"Thanks."

"I'm John. You are?" He held out his hand and I was just about to shake it when Joe came out of nowhere with the guys in tow.

"Leaving. Let's go. We need to get in line." He spoke up, pulling me by the hand towards the entrance of the shop.

"Well it was nice meeting you." Said John, waving to me.

"What the hell is your problem? Couldn't you see I was talking?" I demanded, pulling my hand out of Joes grasp, once we were out of the shop.

"Yeah, well it's not like you can date him." He countered.

"I WASN"T GOING TO!" I shouted, earning several looks from passerbies; I didn't care. "I can talk to whomever I want Joseph, it doesn't mean I'm going to jump in bed with the first guy who notices me." I said, stalking off towards the aquarium.

"Wow, you fucked up, man." I heard Joey say.

I couldn't say I was surprised by Joe's actions; things like this had been subtly happening when we were back home.

JPOV

"Lauren, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant!" We were currently walking towards tanks filled with seaweed at the Aquarium, when I was apologizing for the hundredth time.

"Oh my dead god! Do you ever SHUT UP?" She asked, reeling around to face me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of _ANYTHING_ but it's hard _not _to be afraid of Lauren Lopez when she's mad.

"Sorry?"

"Ugh! Fine, I forgive you. Just stop whining!" she said, a small smile playing on her rosy lips.

"YAY! We're a family again! Does that mean you and Mommy aren't getting a divorce?" asked Joey in a baby voice. I gave him a look and expected Lauren to say something but when I heard nothing, I turned and saw no one where she'd been standing.

"Uh where's Lauren?" asked Darren uncertainly, coming up behind us with the Brian's.

"Lauren?" I shouted into the crowd.

"Lolo?"

"LAUREN?"

"There!" shouted Rosenthal, pointing towards a kiddie plaything. Turns out it was a 'kelp forest'.

We ran over and looked through the windows of the giant play pen; all of us too big to go in.

"Lauren. What _are_ you doing?" I asked, half laughing.

"I'm Nemo! And you guys are big meanie barracudas." She told us. We all laughed at her.

"Lauren, c'mon let's go check other things out."

"You'll have to catch me first!" She shouted, making a dash for it.

"GET HER!" yelled Brolden. We all let out loud battle cries, chasing after the tiny girl in an attempt to get her. I swear people thought we were crazy.

"Wait, let's split up, yeah?" said Joey, pulling Darren towards the seahorse sanctuary.

"You're on your own Joe." And off ran the two Brian's leaving me to look for Lauren in the jellyfish area.

"Come out, come out where ever you are, Lauren." I only had to whisper because the section was completely empty. _Wait, not completely empty,_ I thought, spotting some movement behind a huge tank holding some sardines.

I walked slowly over to the tank, and jumped on the person behind it.

"I found you!" I shouted triumphantly, tickling her sides. I loved the feel of her in my arms, it's like we were two pieces of a puzzle, as cheesy as that sounds.

"Stop! Stop, unkle! I can't breathe!" She squealed.

"Never!" And after a few more denied protests, she suddenly stopped moving and breathing all together.

"Lauren?" I shook her, no response. "This isn't funny. Oh shit! I killed her!"

"Hah, zombie!" She yelled, wriggling out of my arms and booking it towards the exits. I followed only to find she'd been captured by Joey and Darren. Turns out Seahorses are next to jellyfish.

"!" she half cried. I laughed, leaving her to deal with them, and called Brolden, who agreed to meet us at the Open Sea section; if we hurried we could catch the feeding of the inhabitants.

"Hey, who wants to go see sharks?" I asked the overgrown children.

"YEAH!" shouted Darren and Joey, their captive long forgotten as the charged towards the Open Sea. I looked at Lauren who was now residing on the floor where the guys dropped her.

"Need help?" I smirked as she nodded; out of breath for a proper response. I took her hand and pulled her rather unceremoniously up straight. She stumbled and fell into my arms. As cliché as it was, my whole world stopped and it was as if she was the only one to exist. I could see her getting lost in my eyes for just a moment, but that all stopped when she straightened herself up.

"Uhh, I think we should go now." She said, avoiding my eyes.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered. "Let's go." _Way to mess up again, Joseph._

LPOV

_Wow, his arms are _so _warm, _I thought to myself. _Stop it Lauren, you're like his sister._

_But he gave me the look!_

_What _look_?_

The _look!_

_HE DOESN"T LIKE YOU!_

_SHUT UP! Great, I'm arguing with myself, I've officially lost it._

"Uhh, I think we should go now." I said, looking anywhere but him.

"Y-yeah."

I stepped back, letting my hair cover my blush and walked in the direction of the Open Sea, not caring if Joe was following or not.

"_There _you guys are!" Said Darren. "What took so long?"

"N-nothing." Stupid stutter. "So are we gonna watch, or just talk?" Darren narrowed his eyes at us but let go of the subject.

"Shhh, it's starting," whispered Rosenthal, breaking the tension. _Phew._


	7. Chapter 7

SORRY SORRY SORRY!

I know I haven't updated in months but hopefully I can post two chapters tonight.

Check out my Polyvore account; kaerosewalker. That's where you'll find all my Lauren outfits. ENJOYYYYY

Kae xx

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**CHAPTER 7 – "Awkward."**

"Well that was fun." Commented Darren, breaking the awkward silence after the aquarium show.

"Yeah." They all agreed.

"So who's driving?" He asked around. Brolden raised his hand and took the keys from the curly haired boy and dragged his name sharing friend with him.

"Where to next?" Joey asked following Darren into the R.V.

Lauren made her way after them only to be stopped by Joe. She looked up at him as he towered over her, blue eyes staring into hers.

"Listen, Lo, about the whole aquarium thing, you see I kinda-" Joe was interuppted by Rosenthal shouting at them to hurry up. Lauren couldn't be any more relieved as she ran into the bus and into her 'room'.

Joe sighed and got on as well, taking a seat next to Darren who was in an intense game of Gold Fish with Joey.

**LPOV**

Sleep. In this very moment my body was craving it, yet my mind said no. It was quite depressing. I laid on my bed and looked at the ceiling and attempted to count unicorn; sheep were way too boring. I was finally calm and my mind had settled whe Joe decided to open his mouth again.

I sighed and sat up, ready to walk out when he spoke up.

"I can't handle this anymore." He said, sounding defeated. I pushed my curtain open slightly and peeked through, looking at Joe, his head hanging down as Darren and Joey stared at him. Joe was like the rock in the group and all of a sudden he was on the verge of tears.

_He's acting like Up_, a voice in the back of my head snickered. I ignored it and strained my ears to hear him.

"What's wrong?" I heard Joey ask, putting down his cards. Joe looked up and sat back.

"You guys know how I feel about Lauren?" I nearly chocked on my spit.

_HOW DOES HE FEEL? _I all but shouted at myself.

The group nodded and urged him to continue.

"I just don't think she feels the same way about me." He said quietly. I almost ran out there, but I held it in.

_IS THIS REAL LIFE? _I demanded myself.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Darren asked. I nodded my head in approval and listened for Joe's response.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just scared of how she'll react." I slapped my forehead at Joe's obliviousness and ended up falling out of the bed, landing on my shoulder. The pain was unbearable even though it wasn't broken; I could already feel a bruie forming and just laid there on the floor.

The boys must of heard cause all of a sudden I was met with the concerned faces of Joe, Darren and Joey. The latter two burst out laughing at me in a mess of my own sheets but Joe knew something was wrong. After they were done laughing at me and left, Joe lifted me up and set me on the bed.

"Do you need your pain killers?" I nodded and watched him get off my bed and reach up over it where the compartment of medicine was residing. I couldn't help but notice his toned abs as his shirt rode up. It was all too quickly gone when he sat back on the bed and handed me two pills and an open bottle of water. He watched me as I swallowed the disgusting things and chuckled at my face.

"Stop laughing!" I swatted his arm and he tickled my side. I was laughing so hard I hardly felt the pain anymore instead just focusing on the feel of Joe's arms around me. He had me pinned under him, legs between mine and I couldn't help but blush under his stare. Things had gotten serious very quickly and I thanked deadgod that no one came barging in.

**JPOV**

_Finally, _I thought to myself as I looked at Lauren underneath me. I'd fantasized about her for so long, and here we were, no interruptions.

"Lau-" I began to say but she place her small hand over my mouth.

"I heard what you said to the guys." She whispered, eyes twinkling. I immediately got off her and sat across from her, looking anywhere but her.

_What is happening to me? _I thought._ I've never been this way and suddenly I feel like I'm back in High School._

Lauren must have noticed as she began giggling again. I felt a sudden warmth pass through me as I listened to her. I looked up at her and grinned.

"Don't you have something to ask me Joe?" She asked shyly. I shook my head quickly and saw her face fall the slightest.

Here we were, two adults acting like teenagers.

"Well then I have something to tell you." Lauren glanced at me before fiddling with her hands.

"You see Joe, the reason I left Chicago is cause I couldn't handle living with the man I lo-" Brian Holden barged into the bunk quickly and looked between us, smirking slightly.

"When you two 'teens' are done flirting, you can come and join us for a quick rest stop." And before I could grab him, Brian had already ran.

"What were you saying Lolo?" I asked her, hopeful that she'd feel the same way as I did for her." She ignored me and jumped off her bed, grabbing her small suitcase and dragged it with her to the bathroom.

I all but punched the wall and looked out the window to reveal an empty beach, excluding the guys. I grabbed my trunks and shed my pants pulling them up quickly. But not before hearing a little squeak and a door close. I looked up and heard Lauren panting against the bathroom door. She'd obviously caught me and I couldn't help but smirk as I left the R.V.


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8 "Embarrassed."**

Lauren had seen many guys naked before, even Joe, but not when she felt such feelings towards him. She'd never expected to walk out and catch him in mid change. She blushed just at the thought of it and sighed once she heard him leave the bus. She opened the bathroom door and flung her clothes onto the bed and grabbed her pink Ray Bans, slipping them over her eyes.

Lauren looked around and noticed Joe's clothes in a pile on the floor and she kicked them under his bed, mad at him for frustrating her, mad at B-Hol for interrupting her and mad at God who obviously didn't want her to say what she wanted. She left the bunks and made her way to the front of the bus where she grabbed a bottle of water and tossed into her bag, then headed out for a sun filled day at the beach.

**JPOV**

To say I was irritated with Brian was an understatement. He always had to interrupt; even back in Chicago he'd butt in at the worst moments. I sat down on the sand next to Joey who was chewing on a Red Vine, staring out at the ocean.

"So did you tell her?" He asked. I knew what he was referring to and shook my head.

"She heard what we were talking about though."

"What did she say?" I nearly had a heart-attack as Darren popped up inbetween us. Joey laughed and looked at me expectantly. I looked around and just sighed. I knew she was going to say something about the situation but I wasn't going to push her; she had to say it in her own time.

"Brian interrupted her before she could say something." I answered, looking for him. I saw him and smirked, jumping up and tackling him into the sand as he screamed like a girl. I couldn't contain is rolling off him and clutching my stomach as I laughed my ass off. The others joined in and from the corner of my eye, I noticed a petite bikini clad body run past us, heading straight for the water.


End file.
